Golden Gate Bridge Suicides - History

The Golden Gate Bridge officially opened to the public on May 27, 1937. However, the engineering marvel also has a dark, tragic reputation of being the world's top destination for suicide with over 2,000 deaths in the 80 plus years since its opening. Joseph Strauss, the chief engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge, once said when addressing safety concerns:

“The Golden Gate Bridge is practically suicide proof. Suicide from the bridge is neither possible nor probable.”

He originally designed the bridge to have 5.5 foot (1.65m) high railings along the pedestrian walkways. However, Irving Marrow, the architect, changed plans to the Art Deco style, lowering the railings to the 4 foot high ones we know today. This simple design change proved to be a very fatal mistake. On August 7, 1937, Harold Wobber, a 47 year old WW1 veteran, became the first confirmed person to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge.

Since the opening of the bridge, there had been many failed attempts to address the issue of suicide at the Golden Gate Bridge. In 1939, the California Highway patrol first asked the Bridge leadership to stop the suicides from the span. In 1948, The GGB district initiated the first full study on a suicide deterrent and it took four years to complete. However, the idea was ultimately abandoned. In February 1960, the district voted to close the pedestrian walkway from dusk to dawn to help reduce suicides without inconveniencing tourists. In 1971, the Golden Gate Bridge District hired Ashen and Allen, an architectural firm, to draft proposals for potential suicide barriers. It proposed 18 different designs and drawings, but the board struck down all of the ideas.

By October 1973, the 500th confirmed person jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge. In May 1977, the father of Kenneth Pattison (d. January 1977) was the first person to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the Golden Gate Bridge District due to the lack of a suicide barrier or deterrent on the bridge which cost him his son's life. In September 1995 and January 2003, the mother of Leonard Branzuela (d. June 1993) and the mother of Marissa Imrie (d. December 2001) respectively, subsequently filed wrongful death lawsuits against the Golden Gate Bridge District. All three lawsuits failed to pass as the district claimed it was not liable for individuals who intentionally used the bridge in an unsafe manner.

In 1978, Richard Seiden, a UC Berkeley professor, published the study "Where Are They Now? A Follow-up Study of Suicide Attempters from the Golden Gate Bridge". This was an instrumental study that demonstrated that the vast majority of people do not go on to kill themselves if someone or something intervenes in their attempt. This evidence played a major role in convincing the Golden Gate Bridge District that a suicide deterrent is effective and worth the cost.

As more deaths occurred, bridge authorities took more indirect measures to address the issue. In 1993, crisis phone boxes were added to the bridge walkway. Then in April of 1996, bridge patrol officers were added to walk and bike up and down the sidewalks to help enhance security and safety on the bridge. In July 1995, the 1,000th confirmed person jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge. In the same year, the official count of suicides and media coverage stopped. In 1997, The Golden Gate Bridge District considered another suicide barrier proposal, z - clip fencing, and even tested a prototype in a nearby parking lot. However, the idea was rejected and no further action was taken.

In October 2003, Tad Friend wrote the article “Jumpers” in The New Yorker which brought heightened awareness to the Golden Gate Bridge suicides. Inspired by the article, Eric Steele filmed and then released a documentary, “The Bridge”, in October of 2006. He and his crew filmed over 10,000 hours of the Golden Gate Bridge in 2004 and documented 23 of the 24 known suicides from the bridge that year. The Jumpers article also helped launch an advocacy effort from the Psychiatric Foundation of Northern California. PFNC initially called together family members of persons lost to suicide from the bridge and survivors of bridge jumps.

Bridge Rail Foundation was launched in 2006 when a more aggressive and focused advocacy program was needed to address the bridge suicide problem. In late 2005, the San Francisco Chronicle published, “Lethal Beauty”, a 9 part front page series on the problem of suicides at the Golden Gate Bridge. The Chronicle series featured stories from surviving family members, suicide attempt survivors, California Highway Patrol, and the U.S. Coast Guard. The series openly called for a suicide barrier at the bridge. However, according to a 2005 public opinion survey asking over 1,000 people, 75% of responders voted they opposed any suicide barrier or change to the bridge.

Also in 2005 — following an intense public hearing—the Golden Gate Bridge District voted to request design options for a suicide prevention system for the bridge. In 2006 they commissioned a Phase 1 study on a suicide barrier including environmental impact initial reports and design work. On October 10, 2008, — again following a lengthy and intense public hearing—the district board unanimously voted for the approval of a suicide deterrent net as the preferred alternative. However, funding was not yet secured.

On June 27, 2014, the GGB District, with the help of grieving families’ advocacy efforts, secured the funding for the net from four major funding sources:

$74 million from Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)

$70 million from California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)

$64 million from Golden Gate Bridge District revenue

$7 million from State of California Mental Health Funds via State Budget (Prop 63)

$500,000 from individual donations

California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Senator Barbara Boxer, and Senator Dianne Feinstein were instrumental elected officials who were key to making the net a reality. Senator Boxer, who was chair of a key committee in the Senate, wrote the legislation needed to assure funds for the Net were included in a transportation infrastructure bill in 2012. These were the funds distributed by MTC. Once funds were assembled, the bridge district began a competitive bidding process and finally awarded the contract to build the net in 2017. In July of 2024, the Golden Gate Bridge District held a commemoratiom ceremony for the completion of the project.